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November 1703 (7)
= La Gloire du Roi - November 1703 = Weather this month *Calmed in the Baltic. *Rainfall in India. *Storms in the far south and the Black Sea. Events Of Importte Pertaining To Recent Matters Dresden *The Saxon Army of Relief, under Field Marshal Baron Franz Pufendorff, has appeared south of the siege lines around the Saxon capital of Dresden and is threatening to attack the Austrian Imperialists. This army numbers 18 infantry battalions, and 14 squadrons of horse. To the east of these there arrived an Imperialist column of 18 dragoon squadrons which fanned out and skirmished with these Saxons, although a serious engagement was avoided. *Within Dresden there has been an outbreak of disease, a dreaded condition which makes souls as well as bodies in their infirmities shake! There has been little celebration over this singular fact in the reichsarmee camp since a similar outbreak is scourging their number as well. *Emperor Leopold has called upon Dresden and with it the principality of Saxony to surrender. “If there is no surrender the city will be stormed,” His Serene Majesty sternly warned, giving the defenders three days to decide. Lothar von Graf, the Saxon Minister for War replied, pointing out that it would be totally dishonourable to surrender since no breach had been made nor carried in the main curtain wall of the city, so surrender was out of the question. Over the next few days Baron Menno van Coehorn sited several mortar batteries and had them lob ranging shells in order to cut the tallow fuses to find the range of the defensive works. The decision not to surrender didn’t go down well with everyone in the city. Herr Hans Kottler, the leader of the Imperial Party in Saxony, and who is now known to be in hiding in Dresden, has let it be known that surrender would be in the best interests of the nobility, and he is even said to favour an armed uprising to bring it about if necessary! 7th November dawned to the dull boom and crump of mortar fire. With more accuracy then is usually associated with such weapons the shells exploded across the bracket of the defensive works, causing mayhem and loss of life but certainly not breaking the defence. The Emperor himself courageously drew his sword and went forward to the assault in person, along with Prince Eugene! Before the troops went in with him, in recogntion of their losses so far the Emperor promised the Grenadier Guards and the Swiss that after this battle they will be formed into a new regiment and have their pay doubled! With drums rattling and colours flutering to the fore the six battalions of the Austrian and Swiss guards led the assault. The mortars fell silent as these brave soldiers advanced into the teeth of cannon fire from the bastions situated above and behind the covered way, which was itself still defended by stalwart Saxon musketeers, including some from the Saxe-Coburg Imperal Reichsarmee contingent. The cannon balls from the bastions and the musketry from the covered way caused many a soldier to drop and not move again, colours were dropped only to be picked up again by another nco. Oh the misery and pathos but splendour and gallantry of it all! The attacking Imperialists, who maintained a stoic silence, buckled under the pressure and fell back to their lines, to the horror of Eugene and the Emperor who urged them to rally and carry on, for the shame of it all! The guards made some semblance of a stand, but only in order to fall back in good order this time. The attack had failed. Yorktown *Outside the county courthouse a local man by the name of Mister Alan Standing loudly complained with much bitterness and oaths regarding the lack of action against the Jacobite pirates! This naturally earnt him attention, and much applause and 'hear, hear's!' from his audience who already happened to be of like mind, but before any authority sought to silence him by means legal or otherwise he took to his horse and scarpered out from the town! Reval *Estonian counts Babin and Lebel have been voicing their enthusiasm for an independent Estonian Grand Duchy under the umbrella of the Russian Empire. Count Belous, another leading noble, is also saying he is supporting the idea of an independent grand duchy. Berlin *General von Steinmetz has publicly declared that the Grand Armee of Prussia is ready to march to the relief of Dresden at the 'drop of a hat' if the Imperialist army there does not lift its 'unjust and unwarranted siege of our ally and friend who has already submitted to the Imperial Peace.' *Prince Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau, Regent of Prussia has informed the Count of Salzburg that Prussia intends to retain her interests in Minden and Lippstadt, "The territories being released relate to a peace settlement with the Kingdom of Sweden, and does not cover either of these towns." Vienna *Philippe de Bourbon, Duke d'Anjou, Prince du Sang has arrived in Vienna and requested permission to enter the Austrian court, along with Archbishop Fénelon of Cambrai? Stade *Following a time of anarchy and chaos in the city, Stade has come back under good governance with the return of the rule of the Prince of Hanover. Zurich *Karl Anton Am Rhyn has issued a reminder to Prince Maximilian of Bavaria that he now owes the Swiss Cantons £50,000 for the continued hire of mercenaries, and that payment of this sum is somewhat overdue. Rome *His Holiness Pope Clement XI has announced that he will be making a state visit in March to Munich as a guest of that beloved son of Mother Church the Prince of Bavaria. In reference to the House of Wittelsbach he then decreed that the demesnes known as Liege-Cologne are the hereditary lands of this House in that a male of that dynasty has the right to be made Archbishop and hold the lands as such on behalf of the Church. If the male line of this House should die out, then the right reverts to Rome. This is in recognition of the faithful Bavarian conduct given during the Counter- Reformation. In return the Holy See fully expects to receive a tithe of 5% of all Liege- Cologne revenues. Cairo *The Bey of Egypt has revealed that he is agreeing to a proposal from the Grand Vizier, a joint venture to construct a major new canal, and believes work on this shall begin soon. Muscat *Sultan Saif I of Oman has announced that he welcomes trade missions from everyone and urges them to be sent to open up in Muscat, 'where my bazaars and souks have plenty of room for such as they.' Moscow *Formal notices have been issued for a convocation of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church, said to be the second of this year, to be held in Moscow over the months of November and December. Those Orthodox patriarchies who are part of this Synod are obliged to be represented, which covers the patriarchies of Russia, Wallachoa, Greece, and Egypt, while non-synodic members are welcome as guests and shall be able to apply for membership should they so desire. It is certain that the Synod will start late since it is already November which is providing insufficient time for the replies to go out, or to allow the representatives time to agree to come and to actually travel to Moscow! Interestingly, Athanasius, the Great Patriarch of Greece and Prime Patriarch of the Orthodox faith, has just left Moscow and gone to Sofia... Zeila *The Sultan of Adal has kindly granted permission for the Ottoman Sultan to open a trade mission office in Zeila, especially since he considers Turkish carpets to be very well made. Christiana *Academics from Christiana’s Science Academy have published their findings in relation to the hot springs of Reykjavik. They have concluded that they generate heat on account of hot water and steam concentrated from within the earth, from which it rises. The villagers of Reykjavik have already harnessed this God-given source of heat to warm their dwellings via wooden conduits. The Irish Sea *A couple of English Royal Navy frigates happened upon three Jacobite corvettes accompanied by six prizes. The Jacobites, with a confidence verging on idiocy, decided to engage with two larger cruisers while their third corvette made good her escape with the prizes. Despite the apparent discrepency on the first day the gunnery action was a remarkably well matched one in effectiveness, and on the following day action was resumed. However, by eleven o'clock of the second morning the Jacobite cruisers had taken such an awful hammering that one was obliged to strike her colours, although the other insisted on making for land to beach herself. Her crew then set their ship on fire before surrendering their persons to the local authorities. Minden *A few days after learning that Prussia still pursues her claim to the city, a mob in something of a rage gathered in Minden and took hold of the Prussian junior justice ministers Herr Suen and Herr Didlum. The unfortunates were thrown from a balcony to their deaths! While Prussia claims Minden she has not enjoyed civic rule there, the city instead continues to pledge its allegiance to Christoph von Galen, Bishop of Munster, despite His Eminence's apparent willingness to relinquish his role as their ruler. This may mean he would be amenable to see Minden become an Imperial Free City in order to help him avoid a future conflict with Prussia? Tampa Bay *The Honourable West Indies Company liner Wren was encountered by a couple of Jacobite sloops Rascal and Vagabond. The English HWIC vessel was armed, and as a precaution cleared decks for action and ran out her cannon while Captain Brant kept watch on the approaching sloops from the poop deck. This may all have surprised the sloops' own lookouts, since it had appeared at first sight as if this liner had no gunports to speak of. As the Jacobite ships closed on her the crew of Wren chorused as one a great shout, "Freedom!" they cried out! The Jacobites reponded by opening fire! The liner's gunners failed to get in a return broadside before each sloop came against either of her sides with grappling hooks as if making to board. This they did, and after a couple of minutes of gnashing of teeth at each other and the occasional brawl between individuals Wren was captured, Brant striking the colours (although he certainly looked unhappy and even outraged at having to do so!). Following the boarding, during which four Jacobites lost their lives, the officers of the Wren were separated from their men and Captain Brant as well as Lieutenant Gil were hung from the yard arm. The other officers were going to share a similar fate when the pleadings of the English, Spaniards and Jamaicans of her crew brought them mercy and spared them from such an ugly fate. Santa Anna *Mangas Colorodas of the Yaqui tribe, the Cacique at Santa Anna in Northwestern New Galicia has refused a request to provide scouts to help the Spanish against the Navaho in case it brings about reprisals against his people who chiefly live away on the north-west coast of Northern Mexico. This lack of Yaqui scouts has stalled planned Spanish raids which were being planned in order to attack into Navaho territory. Shanghai, &c. *The annual preliminaries of the Shantung Tournament has taken place in fine weather outside Shanghai, Chiangning, and Tsing-Tau. Admission to the events remained free for those who viewed them from uncovered areas, although a nominal fee was charged for those wishing covered seating, with all proceeds going to the Shanghai children’s orphanage fund. 150 preliminary round winners emerged, ten from each category of competition, and all of whom are promised good positions in training hierarchies, a red sash with gold lettering proclaiming their accomplishments, and cash purses of 800 Qing each. The ultimate winner in each of five categories will receive a master crafted weapon of their choice, a fine horse, a cash purse of 8,000 Qing, and the title of Master of the Shantung Tournament, Year of the Sheep, in each of their respective competition categories. The Celestial Emperor has been invited to attend. Marseilles *Bread riots have broken out in Marseilles with thousands of civilians going on the rampage and wrecking a Prussian trade office in the port. The town watch restored order as best it could the following day, but is being hard pressed to protect the other significant land sites from the anger of the mob. Kingston *On the poop deck of the fast liner Good Venture, which is showing Jacobite colours, a gentleman observed the 'vile, high and mighty sitting ducks' wallowing at anchor in Kingston, that is the English war fleet there, packed like sardines in the harbour. He smiled grimly. "I plan to burn them into the sea. The plan I have formulated, if successful, will astound not just my victims, but also those who will benefit – namely the Jacobites!” He turned to the captain of the ship. “And so hopefully earn us considerable favour when they learn it was us! Haha!” He went on. "Kingston is ideal for a raid. It is enclosed so that there is only one entrance and that itself has reefs further out to sea. This is significant as it makes escape for any ships under attack very difficult!” The Good Venture then sailed into the harbour, for all intents and purposes as an innocent merchant trader. True she was showing Jacobite colours, but under English law even Jacobites are permitted to trade to this day! However, a curious thing then happened. As if the ship carried the plague English merchants made haste to vacate the port and put out to sea. Ashore they had become convinced that the Jacobite threat was real, and chose to take no chances with this arrival! By contrast the military and naval commanders pooh-poohed the idea that a mere liner, even one armed, could pose a threat to the great forces at Kingston, even if their confidence was not shared by merchant sailors and their disreputable seafront prostitute friends! That evening, perhaps on account of all these goings-on and rumour, the Governor of Jamaica, the venerable Sir Jeremy Godolphin summoned the garrison and naval officers of the Britannic forces situated in Kingston to his residence. What was discussed in the consequential evening meeting is not privy to the public ear, alas! In the meantime down by the docks the Jacobite merchant master, who was watched with some mistrust, paid a visit to the HWIC Chandlery and enquired whether gunpowder, oil and rum could be purchased here? He was told no, only grain and some maps were available. Thus thwarted, and with the evening getting on, he learnt that the HWIC had a powder magazine nearby. This however, he was told to his disappointment, did not sell powder to Jacobites! On the morning tide Good Venture put out to sea. Trent & Innsbruck *Prince Maximillian Emmanuel, Elector of Bavaria has departed Rome in order to avoid the coming winter closure of the Alpine passes on account of snow. Before crossing the Alps he stopped over at Trent where he met Johann Michael Graf von Spaur, the Bishop of Trent, with whom he struck up a very friendly rapport. His Grace bid him goodbye and went to Innsbruck, where he made the acquaintance of the mayor, Herwig, with whom he walked in the city and spoke at length, indeed staying at his house as his guest. Stavuchanak *The Prince of Moldavia has paid his own state coffers a susbtantial sum in return for renaming the old citadel of Stavuchanak, which is now known as ‘The Racovita Fortress’. Mexico City *At the Viceroy’s Palace the Cabildo of New Spain met in the Great Hall which is lined with a huge wall map of New Spain in silver and gold with towns and settlements marked with pearls, and Mexico City with a diamond. The rather dull legal affairs were disrupted when Vicente Periz, the Captain-General of New Spain announced the Spanish victory over the Navaho at Rio Bravo, after which his servant poured 300 scalps from the Navaho onto the floor! Versailles *In protest over ‘recent unreasonable demands placed upon His Most Britannic Majesty’ and ‘support for putting a French poodle on the English throne’ the Earl of Pembroke has left Versailles having closed down the English embassy to France. His parting comment was that ‘relations with Vienna and Madrid will, in stark contrast, remains open.’ *King Louis XIV made a rare perosnal appearance at the Assembly of Notables. “I am,” said the King, “most deeply touched by your support. At a time when France has suffered a terrible famine, you voted for huge tax increases which may bankrupt some of you, and to support a war against France. Your actions went beyond mere obedience; they demonstrated by this selfless act that you truly love your king. Do not look sad! In this Jubilee Year, twenty-three million hearts proved their love, trust and loyalty. Now with your permission allow me to prove my love for my people.” His Most Christian Majesty then announced that the new resettlement tax on commoners is being abolished, bringing the current commons rate down from 10% to 9%. The base tax on nobility was changed from 13% back to 5%, and that on the Gallican Church reduced to 7%. “All these rates are effectice immediately. I thank the nobility for their generosity in providing fresh water aqueducts throughout France. This necessary measure will allow the country to recover quicker from the famine and reduce the risk of disease. The small tax rise on the Church is to fund the tax cut for the poorest and provide funds for famine relief. I hope to reduce this tax when the economy recovers significantly.” “To show solidarity with the people I will contribute 100,000 louis d’or from my personal wealth to poor relief in January. I trust you will have no hesitation in passing this measure?” In scenes of great joy and relief the notables voted through all measures. Some gentlemen were seen to even cry at the news! *Msr. Visentin and a Mister Albert Bell travelled from Paris to visit the Foreign Office. They asked to speak to the incumbent minister, the Marquis de Torcy, but after being kept waiting for a week their request was turned down. Munich *The Prince of Bavaria’s wife, Theresa Sobieska has accompanied her son Erbprinz Charles Albert in visiting the 2nd Swabian Kreis Infantry Regiment, who are undergoing drill exercises outside of Munich most days. The guests watched this, but also noticed the moody faces of both the men and officers. Theresa confided in the officers as they marched back into the city that she feels that the regiment was unfairly chastised for the rusty bayonets and she wishes it to show its true mettle for her! “So that I may have it renamed Erbprinz with the Kurfurst’s heir here Charles Albert as its honorary colonel!” She insisted that this will happen when the Kurfurst returns in December, adding however that she looks to the officers to raise the regiment’s morale for her. Lille, &c. *Russian lancer cavalry missions have arrived in Lille, Belfort, Toulouse, and Paris, and announced this fact to the local authorities in each case. Lisbon *The Portuguese Foreign Ministry has published this announcement: ‘There has been a change of government in Portugal. The new administration needs more time to study the current dispute between Spain and Portugal. Next month we will send letters to Madrid and Rome to clear up any misunderstandings which have occurred in the past. To show our intention for peace and as well our loyalty to His Holiness Pope Clement XI we will lift the ban on Spanish trade this month. Hopefully this will calm the troubled waters. It would also be an honour for us if His Holiness could act as an arbitrator in this conflict.’ *King Pedro has graciously given a huge sum from his own purse to family members of victims of the famine in order to aid them in their plight. Bristol *Prayers have been said for the King and country in the Chapel for Sailors in Distress as well as at St. Paul’s parish church in Fish Ponds, in both instances at the behest of the Right Reverend Dr. Sebastian Crane. Jassy *The Ottoman Sultan's ambassador to Moldavia, Huseyin Dunya has it be known at Moldavian court in Jassy that the Ottoman Grand Vizier has expressed ‘the greatest displeasure possible’ at the news of a mutual defence pact between Moldavia and Poland. "As expressed most succinctly by the Grand Vizier in his letter of this month to the Hopsdar Prince, Prince Mikhail is invited to reflect most deeply on where his loyalties lie. If the prince feels that his future lies more closely with Warsaw than with Istanbul, the Grand Vizier is entirely prepared to take the implications of such to their greatest extent and act accordingly..." he added. A public announcement to this effect was also made in Constantinople by the Grand Vizier’s office. Chiangning *Lord Yea proceeded to Chiangning to attend the Military Training Academy's graduation ceremony, watching while each graduate was assigned a fine quality sword and assigned to the duties with the Home Army. People being Much Admired by the Best in Société *The Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I *Lord Yea Of The Shantung Province Of The Heavenly Celestial Manchu Empire *Mihail Racovita, Hospdar Prince Of Moldavia *Cardinal Portocarrero Of The Council Of State, Bishop Of Toledo, King Of Spain’S Treasurer *King Louis Xiv Of France, The Sun King *Maharaj-Prince Shrimant Rajaram Of The Maharatas *Roger Martel Of The Honourable West India Company, Spain’S Viceroy Of Africa *King Thalun Toungoo Of Burma Shipping Lists: Being a Reporte on Knowne Shipping Movements *None. Lloyds Lists: Being a Reporte on Knowne Shipping Losses from Causes Unknowne or Knowne *None. Ambassadorial Appointments *None. Trade Missions Opened *None. Automatically parsed by LGDRParser v1.0 Category:Game 7